Colin Allred played for the Tennessee Titans in the NFL before serving as a special assistant at the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama administration under Secretary Julian Castro, a former mayor of San Antonio. (colinallred.com)

Former NFL linebacker Colin Allred announced Wednesday he would challenge Texas Rep. Pete Sessions in 2018.

Allred, now a civil rights attorney, told the Dallas Morning News that he was inspired by the grassroots energy he saw after the election of President Donald Trump last year.

While Sessions did not have a serious Democratic challenger for his seat last year, Hillary Clinton won the district.

Allred played high school football in Dallas before starting at Baylor University. He played for the NFL Tennessee Titans for three years before leaving for law school.

“I know this community,” he told the Morning News. “I know what it needs. I know who the people are.”

Allred earned a law degree at the University of California at Berkeley and worked as a special assistant at the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama administration for Secretary Julian Castro, a former mayor of San Antonio.